Happy Birthday
by Melandra
Summary: Naruto reflects on the events of the past year that had led him to this point. NaruSakuSasu
1. Chapter 1

Disclaimer: Naruto does not belong to me.

**Happy Birthday**

Today was his birthday. The tenth of October, a very memorable day for Konoha, whereby everyone celebrated the defeat of Kyuubi, the nine-tailed demon fox and commemorated the brave and courageous Yondaime. However, usually nobody celebrated this special day with him. In fact, he was mostly shunned because people did not want to be reminded of the fact that he was the vessel that held the demon fox. The fox still existed within him. No. People did not want to remember that the fox was not entirely gone. So, the one who 'saved' them was an outcast. Not that he minded it much. He was used to it already. It was always the same almost every year. Almost being the key word. One year had been different.

Sakura. That one word brought up so many mixed feelings within him, most were bittersweet. He had so many thoughts of her. She was his teammate. She was named after a flower blossom. She was very strong. She was a medical ninja. She had pink hair. She was the most beautiful woman in his eyes. He missed her so much. This last thought brought an especially painful wrench to his heart causing him to draw in a gasp of breath. _She does not love you._ A foreign voice taunted him in his head.

"Shut up!" He yelled aloud at the beast that resided within him, jumping up from his seat as he did so.

_She made her choice._

Naruto began pacing around his narrow box of an apartment, agitation written on his face. He needed to go out; being cooped up here with just his thoughts and Kyuubi's taunting was driving him insane. Yet, as the fireworks exploded outside, he was once again reminded as to why exactly he was stuck indoors. No one wanted to see him now. He would not be welcomed outside. They would not want to be reminded of the Kyuubi vessel today. With a heavy sigh of desolation, he flopped back down onto his sofa and stared blankly at his ceiling. As was the case, those damned thoughts came swimming back again. What he would give to have her by his side again. Damn Sasuke. That bastard. He was the cause of all this. Were they happy together now? Was she even okay? This thought triggered some fear and he tried his best to push it away.

Part of him wished that she had never come to him. '_You would not miss something if you had never experienced it before_,' he reasoned to himself, although a part of him, the part that always thought the world of Sakura was loathed to participate in this train of thought. They were nineteen when it happened. It had already been almost seven years since Sasuke had left them and even though he had promised Sakura that he would bring Sasuke back no matter the cost, perhaps Sakura had reached a point where she thought him returning was an impossibility, only wishful thinking on their part. Perhaps hormones were to be blamed too. But one night, she had appeared at his doorstep half-drunk and in this drunken state, she made him a proposition.

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_That night…_

"_You know, only Sasuke and you are…hic…are men that…I would even consider..hic…" Sakura muttered drunkenly as he helped her up from where she had fallen while pounding on his door, one fist still clutching a sake bottle that looked suspiciously similar to the ones Tsunade-baa-chan usually drank from. Not quite sure what to make of her drunken statement, he half-carried, half-dragged her until he finally managed to pile Sakura onto his couch and then he attempted to divest her of the empty sake bottle which she continued to grasp tightly, refusing to relent her hold on it. _

"_Sakuraaa-chan, let go! The bottle is empty already." Naruto whined as he continued to tug it from her. Finally, due to her superior strength, he let it go and as if she had been holding onto the bottle on purpose, just to antagonize him, she let it go and it rolled towards the edge of his couch before he grabbed it and set it on the table with a slight clang. _

"_You did that on purpose." He grumbled as he plopped down on the couch next to her, slightly tired out by the struggling and that was when he felt her hand. It had slid inconspicuously onto his lap. _

"_Whha…" came his shocked reply before she suddenly leaned towards him and pressed her lips against his, with her eyes closed. Naruto's eyes on the other hand, widened in surprise and his lips did not return the kiss even though it was the woman of his dreams kissing him. He was wondering if she was doing this because she was drunk and if he were to take advantage of this opportunity, whether Sakura would hate him in the morning to come. _

_Slightly peeved by his hesitation because after all, wasn't he the one who always claimed that he liked her a lot, Sakura pushed him until he was lying flat on his couch. Straddling him, she said pointedly, "I thought you always liked me?" while she began unzipping her red top. Naruto swallowed the lump that had formed in his throat since her hand had slid onto his lap; he stared up at his teammate and found himself unable to answer her especially when her blouse had slipped off revealing a red lacy bra. _

_Isn't this what you want and more? _

"_But Sakura, you're drunk." The words finally managed to come out through the lump in his throat. _

"_Do I look that drunk to you?" She muttered as she placed both her hands on his chest and shook her head slightly as if trying to rid some remnant strand of hair bothering her face. She could totally tell that his heart rate was way too fast for him to continue with this charade of pretending she did not affect him. He knew that too because she had flashed him a knowing look before she leaned back down to kiss him more softly this time. That was when he caved and returned it. _

That night led to what could only be described as a relationship between Sakura and himself, albeit an uneven one because Sakura got to call all the shots in it and he let her. He did not know why he let her, he tried to reason that it was because he loved her too much and did not want to give her any reason to leave him. Whatever she wanted or desired, he would do his best to give it to her, including bringing Sasuke back.

There were some nights when they were lying together and he felt bold enough to ask her. "Why did you pick me?"

She had turned her solemn but beautiful green eyes on him and replied, "Because you understand." Her eyes continued to search his as he pondered on her response. Deciding to clarify it, she continued, "Only you can understand even a measure of what it felt like when he left. Only you could understand the pain of finding and losing him again." He finally understood. She sought him for comfort because they were in the same boat. Both still hung up over that bastard. Sasuke was always the invisible third party in their relationship, his presence hanging ominously over them. And he never dared to voice the next question that would have come if her response had been different. _Do you love me?_ He now knew that she did not. She was only with him due to the shared comfort of knowing that she was not the only one still yearning for Sasuke's return. The last remaining teammate of Team Seven. The one she could clutch on to in hopes of losing herself to memories of _better_ times, times before Sasuke left. However, he resolved to make the best of his strange relationship with Sakura, best as in he would give her everything she wanted. The moon, the stars and more.

They were mostly quite pleased with their strange relationship, him giving and her taking. It was comforting and Naruto always had abundance in love and affection to spare for others especially for Sakura. Also, finally for the first time in his life, his twentieth birthday was not spent alone. Sakura had been there with him. She had snickered at his attempts to hide in his own apartment to avoid the townspeople whilst they celebrated and pulled him out for dinner at Ichiraku and he realized that the jeerings and rude gestures were not so bad when there was someone to share it with him. Of course, Sakura and her renowned immense strength kept most but the hard-core haters on their better behaviors. It had been the best birthday for him, even though it was just dinner at his favourite ramen bar followed by dessert with Sakura-chan on his bed. It had to be the best because it had also been the night when she had asked him if he loved her before she drifted off to sleep. He had responded with an affirmative but when he eventually managed to draw the courage to ask if she returned his love, she was already snoring softly. However, that night he had been so happy. He had thought this was a turning point in their relationship. She had asked him that question, meaning that she did care about his feelings after all. Determined to make it work and determination was another thing Naruto had in abundance, he had fallen asleep hugging his flower tightly.

The morning after his twentieth birthday, they received news of Sasuke being sighted in the outskirts of Iwagakure. This news, right after his confession, ought to have warned him of the bad omen. Both Sakura and himself were dispatched to check out this piece of news. Actually, Sakura had nudged him into volunteering them considering this involved Sasuke, despite the Fifth Hokage's reluctance due to the fact that there had been numerous rumors about Sasuke's whereabouts in the past and none of them had been anything more than rumors. Even at twenty, he still had a way of whining, "Tsunade-baaa-chan…" which grated on her nerves and usually let him get his way.

Perhaps it was luck or providence playing a cruel joke but this time, the rumors turned out to be true. After some scouring and digging, they found Sasuke, only he was not how they expected to find him. Apparently, Sasuke was wasting away. His body was frail and seemed to be falling apart. As Sakura examined his seemingly dying ex-teammate, Naruto remained standing behind her, his face frozen in shock. In all his daydreams of how he would bring Sasuke back to Konoha, usually involving him knocking Sasuke on the head and then dragging him back forcefully, never once did he imagine a scenario with a wasting away Sasuke. "What happened?" Naruto breathed, his eyes unable to peel away from the scene of Sasuke lying prone on a futon, his skin seemingly dry and peeling, his body shrunken like a dried out fruit.

Sakura and Sasuke seemed to share a look before she said, "When was the last time you…" her question trailed off before she continued, "…was it two years ago?"

"Hn.." was the soft response from Sasuke. Even near death, Sasuke still had to be Sasuke.

"Take me." She finally said. Naruto looked from one of them to the other, his eyes and ears trying to catch up to what they were talking about but somehow, he was always left behind.

"What's going on?" Naruto asked urgently but the both of them ignored him, continuing to stare at one another, as if the true battle was being fought out through their eyes. Usually in such battles, Sasuke would win but this time he was the one who turned away.

"Teme wouldn't let you," Sasuke said as he cast his eyes on the floor.

"Let what?" Naruto was still lost.

"It's not his choice," Sakura continued, completely ignoring Naruto.

But Sasuke was getting tired of Naruto's ignorance. "Fushi Tensei." He muttered irritably as he now fixed his dark eyes on Naruto to see the implication this fact would have on him.

Naruto felt his heart sink to his stomach as shock and revulsion quickly flashed across his face before shock took over again. If he was hearing Sasuke right, Sasuke had learnt the Immortality Jutsu from Orochimaru and had actually performed it two years ago, meaning this body before them was not the real Sasuke but someone else whom he took over. "Why….how…is it true?" He could barely choke the words out.

Sasuke continued to stare unblinkingly at him, giving him no reply and Naruto realized dimly that Sasuke was not using his Sharingan. Was it because he was too weak or was this body someone elses'. Someone who did not have the Sharingan bloodline limit. This thought repulsed him and he looked away.

The disquieting silence was almost overwhelming, before Sakura broke it, kneeling down beside Sasuke and taking his hand. The teme still had the balls to scowl at her. "Take me." She repeated quietly and fiercely. "I have told you before that I would do anything for you and give you everything I have."

Naruto's heart broke when he heard this although he knew he should have been prepared because Sasuke had always been first in Sakura's heart. If nothing else, at least he could serve to take her place. He did not need to think through the implications of what he was offering. He just hurried to her side and placed his hand on her shoulder. "No. Sakura-chan. He can take me instead."

Sakura stared up at him with her beautiful green eyes. She looked emotional, more emotional than he had ever seen her. She must know that he would do anything for her. She seemed to be considering him after what he said before she suddenly stood up and kissed him. The act itself surprised him. Now? Why would she pick now to kiss him and in front of teme? Did that mean….but before he could speculate further, he felt something prick his neck and then everything grew numb and heavy.

When he finally awoke, Naruto found himself lying comfortably on a bed surrounded by white walls. The familiar antiseptic smell caused him to realized that he was in a hospital. How he had gotten there he did not know. The last he remembered was…and as his memory came back to him, his heart suddenly began to palpitate. "Sakura." He called out loudly as he tried to scramble from the bed to search for her and that was when he noticed that he was not alone in the room. Kakashi-sensei was sitting on a chair at the corner of the room holding his ever-present orange book, his face expressionless with that mask on. "How did I get here? Where is Sakura and Sasuke?" Naruto demanded of him.

Unfazed, Kakashi explained that after he had came back from his S-rank mission, Tsunade had informed him about their mission and he had decided to follow them because he was part of Team Seven after all. When he got there all he found was Naruto lying unconscious on the futon. Sakura and Sasuke were both gone. A note was tagged to the wall with a kunai. "Naruto, don't look for us. Just go back to Konoha." It was written in Sakura's hand. Summoning his dogs, he had sent them to look for both Sakura and Sasuke, however they had returned with nothing. It seemed as if both had vanished without a trace. Kakashi continued to explain that right now, the Hokage had sent out an ANBU team to do a more thorough search for both of them. If they are not found, Sakura would be labeled as a missing-nin.

"The note, please." Naruto said bitterly as if he could not believe this. How could both of them leave without him? Did they not understand that he had nothing left in Konoha anymore without both of them. He did not even know if Sasuke had gone through with the Fushi Tensei, because if he did then they would not really be looking for Sakura but Sasuke instead.

When Kakashi had passed the note over to him, it was just as he had described, to the exact words, written in Sakura's hand. 'Us', that meant that he did not go through with the Fushi Tensei? That Sakura had managed to find another way to save Sasuke? It also meant that she had made her choice. Sasuke always came first, always held first place in her heart. He did not even notice the bitter tears that crept down his cheeks as he stared unmovingly at the very last thing Sakura had left for him.

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_I didn't even kiss her goodbye properly._ Naruto stared at his ceiling as the whole event replayed in his head as it had so many other times. He tried to push away the nagging fear that maybe Sakura was no more, after all, in her note she did put 'us' instead of me. Also, the handwriting was in Sakura's hand so if Sasuke-teme had used Fushi Tensei on her, then wouldn't the handwriting be in his hand? He had told Tsunade-baa-chan and Kakashi-sensei what had occurred and the conversation between Sakura and Sasuke which had of course led them to think that Sasuke had now taken over Sakura and that Sakura was as good as gone. But what about the 'us' in the note and Sakura's handwriting? He had argued vehemently, however, they rebutted it, saying that Sasuke could have copied her handwriting being the first-rate ninja that he was or Sakura had probably written the note before she let Sasuke complete the jutsu. He had been furious with their train of speculation and refused to participate in them. After the ANBU had returned with no news, Sakura was labeled a missing-nin.

After that Naruto had withdrawn into himself, seeming to have given up hope. He was rarely seen around town. He kept to himself and did his assigned missions. The urge to search for them was not there. Before, he had always been so eager to find Sasuke but now his enthusiasm had completely vanished. Maybe they were happy together. Maybe he just did not want to face the truth. He was like a shadow of his former self and everyone who knew what happened stared at him with pitying eyes, some even deemed him to be delusional although no one said it to his face based on the Hokage's orders. However, Naruto was not stupid. He knew the whispers behind his back, but he still clung onto the small fragile hope that she still lived and was together with that good-for-nothing Sasuke-teme. That she had picked Sasuke over him was not a surprise to him. This thought, although painful, was infinitely more comforting than speculating that her body had indeed been taken over by Sasuke and that she was no more.

Trying to distract himself from this horrible brooding on his twenty-first birthday, Naruto idly sifted through his mail on his table. Mail was not something he normally looked at because they were usually either bills or hate-mail from the townspeople that hated his existence. However, there was an expensive cream envelope with his name and address printed in block letters. It did not look like hate-mail or bills. Deciding this would be a suitable distraction; he tore off the lid of the envelope and pulled out the simple card from within. It was plain white with the picture of a beach painted in watercolors on the front. Opening the card, there were just these words, "Happy 21st Birthday, Naruto." It was written in Sakura's handwriting.

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Fushi Tensei - Orochimaru's Immortality Jutsu

Author's notes: I did not originally mean for this story to become so bizaare or complicated however, it just happened. I also wrote the actual exchange between Sakura & Sasuke after Naruto was sedated by Sakura, but felt I could not post it with this story because this was meant to be entirely in Naruto's pov. Maybe I'll post it as a Chapter 2 on this story even though it's basically the same as here only showing Sasuke's and Sakura's povs. Thanks for reading.

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	2. Chapter 2

Disclaimer: Naruto does not belong to me.

**The Sad Truth**

Perhaps it was luck or providence playing a cruel joke but this time, the rumors turned out to be true. After some scouring and digging, they found Sasuke, only he was not how they expected to find him. Apparently, Sasuke was wasting away. His body was frail and seemed to be falling apart. After a quick diagnosis, Sakura knew that if something was not done soon, Sasuke would not survive for long. She also thought she had figured out the reason behind his ailment. "Why did you…do it?" She whispered tearfully to him as her eyes began to water up.

Naruto, meanwhile, had been frozen shock by the sight before him. In all his daydreams of how he would bring Sasuke back to Konoha, usually involving him knocking Sasuke on the head and then dragging him back forcefully, never once did he imagine a scenario with a wasting away Sasuke. "What happened?" Naruto breathed, his eyes unable to peel away from the scene of Sasuke lying prone on a futon, his skin seemingly dry and peeling, his body shrunken like a dried out fruit.

Sakura looked from Sasuke to Naruto and then back to Sasuke. A look flashed between Sasuke and her as they realized that Naruto had still not figured it out. Ignoring Naruto, she said, "When was the last time you…" her question trailed off before she continued, "…was it two years ago?"

"Hn.." was the soft response from Sasuke. Even near death, Sasuke still had to be Sasuke. However, Sakura was nearly a hundred percent certain that _that_ jutsu was the reason behind his deterioration.

"Take me." She finally said. Naruto looked from one of them to the other, his eyes and ears trying to catch up to what they were talking about but somehow, he was always left behind.

"What's going on?" Naruto asked urgently but the both of them ignored him, continuing to stare at one another, as if the true battle was being fought out through their eyes. Usually in such battles, Sasuke would win but this time he was the one who turned away.

"Teme wouldn't let you," Sasuke said as he cast his eyes on the floor.

"Let what?" Naruto was still lost.

"It's not his choice," Sakura continued, completely ignoring Naruto.

But Sasuke was getting tired of Naruto's ignorance. "Fushi Tensei." He muttered irritably as he now fixed his dark eyes on Naruto to see the implication this fact would have on him.

Naruto felt his heart sink to his stomach as shock and revulsion quickly flashed across his face before shock took over again. If he was hearing Sasuke right, Sasuke had learnt the Immortality Jutsu from Orochimaru and had actually performed it two years ago, meaning this body before them was not the real Sasuke but someone else whom he took over. "Why….how…is it true?" He could barely choke the words out.

Sasuke continued to stare unblinkingly at him, absorbing that flash of revulsion that had passed through his face. However, Sasuke was too far gone to really care what people thought of him or his actions. His entire reason for being had been drummed into him by his brother, Uchiha Itachi. Live and hate so that he could become stronger, strong enough to finally kill his brother and avenge his slaughtered family. And how or why he could even agree to go through with Fushi Tensei was because he had not finished his life mission and so even if his body expired, he still had to continue to live on.

The disquieting silence was almost overwhelming, before Sakura broke it, kneeling down beside Sasuke and taking his hand. If Sasuke had the strength, he would have shook off her hand, as it is, he merely managed to scowl at her. "Take me." She repeated quietly and fiercely. "I have told you before that I would do anything for you and give you everything I have."

Naruto's heart broke when he heard this although he knew he should have been prepared because Sasuke had always been first in Sakura's heart. If nothing else, at least he could serve to take her place. He did not need to think through the implications of what he was offering. He just hurried to her side and placed his hand on her shoulder. "No. Sakura-chan. He can take me instead."

Sakura stared up at him with her wet green eyes. She was touched. She knew that Naruto was the most selfless person. He had after all given her everything he could, his love, his comfort, his sacrifice. This was the only way she could repay him. This was the only gift that she could give to both of them. Naruto, his life, and Sasuke, his chance for vengeance. At least then, while in the midst of them, she would no longer be so helpless, useless. She would have contributed. Now looking at him at this crucial juncture, she realized that she loved him. It was too late to admit it. Admitting it now would cause even more trouble and Sasuke did not have time. It had to be this way. Standing, she moved to kiss him on the lips, earning an astonished yelp from him before he slumped against her in an awkward hug. She had injected a syringe of sedative into the side of his neck while kissing him. Perks of being a medical ninja. She gently laid him down on the futon beside Sasuke before returning to Sasuke's prone form.

Sasuke had been watching the entire scene whilst lying on the futon and now that she was back at his side, he remarked, "You can't make me do it."

Facing him with eyes full of sadness, Sakura knew that she had already won. She already knew she had when he turned away from her earlier. This was one battle she would have gladly lost but she had won. Taking his hand again, which twitched a little in hers, she said quietly, "Will you see my thoughts? Feel what I feel? Know what I know?"

"Yes." Was the curt reply.

_Ah, then he would know how I truly feel about him. _She was afraid of the answer to her next question though, and hence, did not ask it. _Would I disappear forever?_

"You know….in two years…" Sasuke began hesitantly, which was unusual for him but Sakura placed her other hand over his mouth to stop him. She did not want to know. Her courage was already failing her.

"Do it now, but promise me that you will never hurt him." Her eyes traveled over to Naruto's unconscious body and Sasuke's eyes followed. After a moment's hesitation, he nodded.

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**Epilogue**

Sasuke did not know why he sent the card. Sakura's consciousness in his head had kept reminding him to do that. He had refused at first; however Inner Sakura's consistent nagging was pretty formidable. She had also reasoned with him that this would likely make Naruto think that they were happy together, further ensuring that he would not come searching for him. Knowing what a persistent pest Naruto could be, Sasuke had caved in and sent it. One year had gone by, _one more year, Sakura._ This time she was silent as they both stared out at the crashing sea.

The End.

Author's notes: Thanks for having read and reviewed. I've shifted the epilogue to this chapter because it seemed more appropriate. Those who said they can't put to words what they feel about my story, I hope that means a good thing.


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